The Status Of NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH in Virginia – D

INTRODUCTION
In March 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a plan that would double the number of
Neighborhood Watch programs in the United States and enlist these programs in the fight against
terrorism. When implemented, he said, this plan would provide citizens with an opportunity to
“enhance local homeland security efforts and make preparedness a part of our daily lives.” He proclaimed
that “our children will be safer, our homes more secure, and our communities stronger” if
more Americans participated in community policing programs (such as Neighborhood Watch). 1
WHAT IS NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
Neighborhood Watch (NW) 2 is a community-based crime prevention program through which citizens, in
concert with law enforcement, work to reduce the opportunity for crime in their neighborhoods. It
fosters familiarity and neighborliness for the express purpose of getting neighbors to look out for one
another on a regular basis.
While NW varies in complexity from community to community, there are three main components common
to all NW programs:
1. Neighbors getting to know each other and working together in a program of
mutual assistance.
2. Neighbors partnering with local police for the purpose of learning how to
recognize and report suspicious and criminal activities such as burglary, larceny,
vandalism, littering, etc.
3. Neighbors and police implementing programs such as Operation Identification
and National Night Out, applying CPTED (Crime Prevention Through
Environmental Design) strategies, conducting home security surveys and
organizing community clean ups.
In Virginia, as in most states, NW is coordinated at the community level by local law enforcement
agencies (e.g. police departments and sheriff’s offices). Law enforcement officers provide the guidance,
training and materials for citizens to get started.
SURVEY OF VIRGINIA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
In light of the renewed federal interest in NW and the proposed doubling of NW programs, the Director of
the Virginia Crime Prevention Center (CPC) asked CPC staff to find out the answers to two questions:
1. What is the current status of the Neighborhood Watch program in Virginia, and
2. If directed, would NW officials and participants embrace a new mission oriented
around “homeland security” and the effort to prevent terrorist attack
CPC staff decided that a phone survey of local law enforcement agencies was the most practical way
to do this. A survey instrument was developed based on questions from a 1983 Department of Criminal
Justice Services (DCJS) survey that was conducted at the request of the Virginia Secretary of
1
Department of Justice Press Release of March 6, 2002, “Attorney General Ashcroft Announces Neighborhood Watch
Campaign.”
2
In some Virginia localities, NW is called Crime Watch, Block Watch or Community Watch. This description of NW is found
in the Program Manual of the Virginia Certified Crime Prevention Community Program, DCJS, 2002.
3
Report on the Status of Neighborhood Watch in Virginia to the General Assembly of Virginia, House Document 10,
Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond, 1984. Findings from this study will be cited throughout the current report.
THE STATUS OF NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH IN VIRGINIA
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